The Duke of Wellington remarked of the MPs elected following the
“GREAT REFORM ACT” of 1832, that he had never seen so many Bad
Hats in his life.
The Iron Duke, whatever else may be said of him, never posed as a Democrat.
It is Ironic that lesser men and women, today posing as Democrats have never adjusted to Sinn Fein’s landslide election victories in 1918 and 1921, or even bye-election triumphs. Today British cartoonists, in supposedly sophisticated publications have not caught up with the changes of centuries.
The Sunday Times depicts a Bowler-hatted Orangeman by Ian Paisley’s grave
claiming that Ian is turning in it. Following the appointment of Michelle O’Neill
as Chief Minister at Stormont. In fact seventeen years ago Paisley embraced
Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness, formerly Chief of Staff of the IRA at Stormont.
Paisley embraced Martin McGuinness, quoting King Solomon –
“A time to kill and a time to heal….
A time to love and a time to hate..”
and added –
“I believe that Northern Ireland has come to a time of peace.
How good it will be to be part of a wondeful healing in our province.
Today we have begun to plant and we await the harvest”
Quotation from “Great Irish Speeches 1782- 2007. (Given 8 May 2007)
Peter Brookes, chief cartoonist of THE TIMES depicted the funeral of Martin
McGuinness (which had no paramilitary trappings) with all the venom of
anti-Irish cartoonists of 230 years ago,
And last Saturday produced a very similar cartoon of Michelle O’Neill with
a masked and uniformed IRA firing party saying-
“FIRST MINISTER!
Who’d have thought it?” Anyone who has studied Irish elections knows that Sinn Fein is the most popular party in both jurisdictions in Ireland.
The IRA disbanded following Gerry Adams’ statement of 6 April 2005, also quoted
in “Great Irish Speeches:-
“In the past I have defended the right of the IRA to engage in armed struggle. I did so because there was no alternative for those who would not bend the knee, or turn a blind eye to oppression, or for those who wanted a national republic.
Now there is an alternative.
I have clearly set out my view what an alternative is. The way forward is by building political support for republican and democratic objectives across Ireland and by winning support for these goals internationally.
I want to use this occasion therefore to appeal to the leadership of Oglaigh na hEireann to fully embrace and accept this alternative.”
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